Draft-gear for freight-cars.



No. 680,I30. Patented Aug. 6, |901. J. J. CREED.

DRAFT GEAR FOR FREIGHT CARS.

(Application Sled Mar. 2, 1901.)

(No Model.)

we nomas Emu co, 'mm-urna. wmmaww, u en' 'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN J. OREED, OF MCDONOGHVILLE, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF TWO- THIRDS TO CHARLES M. BABOOCK AND WILLIAM A. BELL, OF SAME PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 680,130, dated August 6, 1901.

.Application filed March 2, 1901. Serial No. 49,623. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern: y d

Be it known that I, JOHN J. CREED, a citizen of the United States, residing'atMcDonogh ville, in the parish of Jefferson and State of 5 Louisiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft-Gear for Freight- Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in draft-rigging, and more particularly to the continuous type.

It consists of a draw-head, draw-bars secured thereto, and means for supporting said parts upon the frame of a car; and itl has for one of its objects the provision of such supporting means as may be readily removed or secured to the draft-sills of a car-frame without removing the load of a loaded car.

It also has other objects in view, and comprises certain other novel constructions, com'- binations, and arrangements of parts, as will 25 be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a portion of a car -frame with a draft appliance secured thereto embodying the features of my invention. Fig. 2 is an invertedl plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on line oc a: of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, 1 indica-tes the end sill of a car-frame, and 2 2 indicate the draft-sills thereof. A shank, as 3, is provided centrally of said draft-sills and beneath the same, and any preferred form of coupler, as 4, is secured to the outer end of the said shank. A plate, as 5, is adapted to pass transversely through said shank 3, as usual, and throughthe elongated slots in the ends of the draw-bars 6 6, whereby the couplers at either end of the car will be connected, the draft apparatus at both ends of the car e being similar. A bolt or pin, as '7, is secured within the inner end of shank 3 and extends rearwardly therefrom through bearing-box 8 and is provided with a nut threaded upon its 5o inner end, as 9. Interposed between the end l vof shank 3 and box 8 and coiled about said bolt 7 is provided a spring, as 10, and a similar spring 11 is provided between said box 8 and nut 9, whereby revolution of said nut will tend to increase or decrease the tension of said springs.

Box 8 is formed of four walls extending downwardly from and formed integral with a draft or follower plate 12. Thisv followerplate is formed with laterally and vertically extending vattaching pieces or flanges, and each horizontal fiange is adapted to extend entirely across the width of the lower face of draft-sill 2, while the other vertical flanges extend entirely across the inner vertical walls of the sills, whereby securing means, as bolts 13 13, maybe passed either vertically or horizontally through said draft-sill for vholding said draft or follower plate 12 in position, or said securing means may be passed both vertically and horizontally through said draftsill and iianges. The vertically arranged flange of each of the followers 12 is adapted to abut against the end sill l and extend I The great advantages of my improved con-` struction will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. and arranged as to give the draw-bars a slight resiliency and at the same time hold them rigid upon being subjected to strain, whereby the parts are less liable to breakage. f

Another great advantage of my improved construction is the formation of the followerplate, whereby broken parts of the draft appliance may be replaced by new ones whenever an accident occurs, without regard to whether the car is loaded or not. Should an accident occur to a loaded car, the broken parts may be removed and a new draft- The parts are so formed,

IOO

plate placed upon the draft-sills and secured thereto by passing securing means through said sills horizontally without removing the load from the car, and the draft-beam is ready for action. It is probably better, when a convenient time arrives, to add also securing means passed vertically through said draft-sills; but with my improved construction the horizontally-arranged secu ring means have been found sniiicient for use until such convenient time arrived, thus obviating the necessity of the expense and annoyance of unloading and reloading a car every time an accident occurs to its draft-rigging.

Although I have described in detail one Y specicembodiment of my invention, yet I shall feel at liberty to deviate from the exact size, shape, and minor details of construction of the parts within the spirit and scope of my invention.`

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire te secureby Letters Patent, is

l. A draft-rigging for carscomprising a draft-plate or follower formed with a central bearing-box, vertically-extending attachingflanges secured thereto projecting beyond.

the said bearing box in each direction for bracing it each way and extending betweenthe draft-sills of the car, laterally-extending horizontal anges extending along thev under sides of the said draft-sills on each side of the bearing-box and forwardly under the end sill, and means for holding the coupler of the car in position with respect to the said bearing-box,

-the structure being such that the draft or `follower plate may be secured to the draftsills by vertical or horizontal bolts passing either through the vertical or horizontal attaching-flanges .or through both and will be 4equally braced against strains in either rection, substantially as described.`

2. A draft-rigging comprising a draft-plate or follower' made up of a central bearing-box having a bearing formed therein for receiving the tail-bolt of the coupler, elongated laterally-projecting horizontal attaching-flanges secured to the bearing-box extending each way therefrom and adapted to Iit upon the under surface of the draft-sills of a car or other vehicle and, extend forwardly under the en'd sill thereof, elongated vertically-extending attachingangesextending each way from the bearing-box and adapted to lit upon the innerfacesi of opposingdraft-'sills, springs interposedbetween the said bearingbox and the coupler mechanism for pulling on said bearing-box in either direction, and bolts for Securing the flanges to the said sills, the structure being such that if the draft-plate should become broken while the car or other vehicle is in use a new one can be put in position and the bolts for attaching the same Amay be placed through the vertical iianges edge while the vertical flanges are cut away so as to be shouldered against the end sill of a car, 'a coupler carried by the followerplate, having its tail-bolt extending through the bearings therein, springs interposed be-A tween the coupler and the bearing-box on E one side thereof and between the tail-bolt end nut and the bearing-box on the other side and meansV for connectin,f 'V the couplersA at each end of the car with each other, substan= tially as described'.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN' J. CREED.

Witnesses:

F. J. GILLo'rsoN, W. H. S'rUCKEY.l 

